


Build

by ace_writergirl



Series: Inktober 2019 - Bees edition [5]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Beenktober 2019, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:54:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21526303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ace_writergirl/pseuds/ace_writergirl
Summary: Set in the Beenktober verse, probably eighteen months or so after the start of V7 and the Atlas arc.Team RWBY heads back to a place that holds a lot of memories...and pain.
Relationships: Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose/Yang Xiao Long
Series: Inktober 2019 - Bees edition [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1502498
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46
Collections: Inktober 2019





	Build

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, it's been 84 years. I still want to finish this group of prompts, though :) I like this verse.

The airship’s engines grew louder which told Yang that they were approaching the dock. She swallowed, her gaze firmly on the fingers of her prosthetic arm. This was something they’d been preparing for, something they all agreed to.

Yang closed her eyes and inhaled slowly, feeling the stressed edges of her Semblance fade back into her mind. She had to be calm.

She didn’t know what she’d do if she didn’t stay calm.

“Yang?”

She lifted her head at Ruby’s cautious tone. Her sister was fidgeting in front of her.

“Uh, we’ve docked. General Ironwood and Penny have gone on ahead to make sure everything is…well…”

Yang sighed. “Thanks, Ruby. I’ll be there shortly.”

“Uh, okay.”

Yang knew that Ruby didn’t know how to act around her, and honestly…she wasn’t sure that she had any hope of making sense. Her mood was sombre, sure, but the one thing she really hated more than her shaking arm was the _fear_.

She was _still_ scared.

Three years later and she was _still_ afraid of confronting the entirety of her past, of what happened at…

Yang cut the thought off with a shake of her head and gripped her trembling hand. She hadn’t had the tremors since the fight with Adam. So much had changed in the two years since then and she had so much to be thankful for.

Almost as if she had been summoned, warm hands enveloped Yang’s and the tension across her shoulders eased somewhat.

“What can I do?” Blake murmured, dropping to her haunches in front of Yang, still holding her hands tightly. “Tell me how I can help.”

Yang swallowed the lump in her throat. She didn’t _want_ to be scared. She wanted to be brave. For Blake, for herself, for everyone they’d lost…

“Honey…”

Yang realised she was crying when Blake shifted next to her, guiding Yang’s head onto her shoulder. Yang didn’t need a second invitation to break down. It was too much that had been building since they’d left Atlas. Blake had made sure that Yang hadn’t disappeared too much into her head and Yang had selfishly forgotten that Blake had trauma of her own.

“Blake, shit,” she mumbled, clumsily wiping her eyes. “I’m sorry. This is…I’m being selfish.”

“No, you’re not,” Blake said firmly. “You’re dealing with it, Yang. This is healthy.”

“But…what about you?”

Blake smiled. “Honestly? I have you so I’m okay.”

Yang felt the tips of her ears burn and the way Blake fingered them lightly told her that they were visibly red. Blake rested their foreheads together.

“This is hard, especially for us. It’s not a competition as to who has more trauma. A _lot_ went down the last time we were here.”

Yang inhaled shakily. “If I had just gotten there a minute earlier…” She trailed off and thumbed Blake’s waist where, hidden beneath her clothing, Yang knew all too well lay a scar. A scar she should have prevented.

“Yang, we’ve both done this countless times,” Blake said, and Yang marvelled at her infinite patience. “The what if game is pointless. We don’t know what would have happened if even one thing had changed. Hey.” She tipped Yang’s chin up so that they were eye-to-eye. “I love you, Yang. I did then and I do now, even more so. We went through hell, we made mistakes and we came out the other side. I think that’s a story worth remembering when it gets a little tough, don’t you?”

Yang cracked a small smile. Of course she did. Blake had really been Yang’s rock while they were in Atlas. They had grown together. It had been a long time coming, which Nora took every opportunity to remind them, and they had a lot of bumps on the road, but they got their happy ending.

Yang cradled Blake’s face and pressed their lips together.

“Thank you,” she whispered after breaking apart.

Blake smiled and kissed Yang’s remaining tears away. “You knew what you were getting yourself into when you proposed to me.”

Yang snorted. “A lifetime of _I told you so_?”

“You should be so lucky,” Blake snarked back. “A lifetime of unwavering support and love.”

“Jeez, maybe I should reconsider.”

“You’re already punching way above your weight, Xiao Long. I wouldn’t push it.”

Their flirty banter had been a pleasant surprise once they finally got together. Yang certainly hadn’t expected her timid partner to have such a fire, but she’d welcomed it wholeheartedly. It had been eighteen months of bliss for Yang and as much as they teased each other, Yang would never dream of giving Blake up.

* * *

Five minutes later, the couple walked out of the airship, fingers linked. The view took Yang’s breath away and she could feel Blake’s hitch as well.

Beacon Tower stood as tall as it had the day Yang had first seen it. Construction had already started on strengthening the foundation. Ironwood wasn’t messing around, for which all of Team RWBY was grateful. The Fall of Beacon was something that had shaped them into the women they were today.

Yang saw Ruby standing a few feet in front of her, clutching the sides of her cloak, her face tilted up. Yang followed her gaze and couldn’t hold back her gasp. She’d seen what Ruby’s silver eyes could do but seeing a Nevermore frozen at the top of Beacon Tower was surreal. She knew that it had happened, but the sheer wonder of her sister’s capabilities had escaped her when she was dealing with her own loss.

Losses.

Yang glanced at Blake, who was already looking at her with an understanding smile.

_Gods, I am the luckiest girl in the world._

She stepped closer to Blake to give her a soft kiss before letting go of her hand and moving next to Ruby.

“Hey, sis,” she greeted.

“Hey.”

Ruby’s voice was so small that it cracked Yang’s heart. As much as she loved Blake, Ruby had been her responsibility, had been her whole world for so long that it was second nature to protect her from anything and everything.

And her little sister, brave and fearless as she was, had only been sixteen when she’d had to witness something so horrific.

Yang put an arm around Ruby’s shoulders and pulled her close. Ruby gladly curled into her big sister’s warmth.

“We’re all going to be here for each other,” Yang said firmly. “Three years ago, we saw Beacon fall. Now we get to build it again.”

Ruby didn’t say anything, just wrapped her arms around Yang’s waist.

“Thank you,” she whispered after a few moments.

Yang smiled. “I’ll always be here for you, Ruby, no matter what. We’ve spent a bit of time rebuilding ourselves and we’re a lot stronger.”

“Stronger together,” Weiss added, suddenly appearing on Ruby’s other side.

“Stronger together,” Blake affirmed, finding Yang’s free hand.

“Stronger together,” Yang and Ruby chorused as they looked up at what would be the grand Tower of Beacon once more.


End file.
